By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Five of the best known names in Shawnee County softball earned spots on TopSports.news' fourth group of Shawnee County All-Time Top 100 honorees while spots No. 61-70 also included three local soccer greats as well as swimming and golf stars.
Silver Lake product Brenda Stolle, who helped Emporia State capture a national softball title, earned the No. 61 spot on the Top 100 while the latest grouping also includes former Washburn Rural and ESU All-American Taylor Zordel, Silver Lake star and Washburn University Hall of Famer Kathy Mohler, Seaman state champ and Division I standout Hailey Reed and Rural multi-sport standout and Kansas pitcher Kasey Hamilton.
The group of honorees also includes former soccer national champion Leea Murphy of Shawnee Heights as well as Washburn Rural stars Kaira Houser and Darby Hirsch while Topeka West product Kadence Jeffries won six state swimming titles in as many tries and Topeka High grad Rachel Stous established herself as one of the area's top women's golfers.
TSN SHAWNEE COUNTY ALL-TIME TOP 100 WOMEN’S ATHLETES
Silver Lake product Brenda Stolle helped lead Emporia State to a national softball championship. [Kansas Sports Hall of Fame]
61. BRENDA STOLLE, Silver Lake
The Silver Lake product was a star pitcher at Emporia State, compiling an 0.33 earned run average in 1980 while leading the Hornets to the national championship. Stolle also led ESU to a second-place finish in the national tournament in '81 and went 66-15 in her career, earning NAIA Pitcher of the Year honors and induction into the Emporia State and Kansas Sports halls of fame.
Former Washburn Rural multi-sport star Taylor Zordel was a softball All-American for Emporia State. [Photo courtesy of Emporia State Athletics]
62. TAYLOR ZORDEL, Washburn Rural
A star in softball and basketball for Washburn Rural, Zordel went on to earn NCAA Division II All-America honors for Emporia State. Zordel earned All-MIAA recognition four straight seasons, including first-team honors three straight years as a shortstop. Zordel is currently an assistant coach at Washburn.
Former Topeka West swimming star Kadence Jeffries went six for six in Class 5A-1A state title races. [Photo by Brent Maycock/KSHSAA Covered]
63. KADENCE JEFFRIES, Topeka West
Despite missing the 2020 season due to COVID-19, Jeffries won six Class 5A-1A individual state championships in as many races, sweeping the 200-yard freestyle and the 500 free as a freshman, junior and senior. Jeffries is swimming at Nebraska Omaha.
64. LEEA MURPHY, Shawnee Heights
Murphy was a star in soccer and track and field for Shawnee Heights and went on to help North Carolina win the NCAA national soccer championship in 2003. Murphy was a four-year letter-winner for the T-Birds in soccer, earning All-City and All-Centennial League honors three seasons, and was a state champion in track as a sprinter.
Former Washburn Rural soccer player Kaira Houser went on to play at Creighton. [Creighton Athletics]
65. KAIRA HOUSER, Washburn Rural
Houser finished her high school soccer career No. 1 on Washburn Rural's career list with 76 goals and ended up second with 48 assists. Houser scored 30 goals as a senior to help lead the Junior Blues to a second-place Class 6A finish, earning All-City, All-Centennial League and All-6A honors before going on to play collegiately at Creighton.
Former Washburn Rural soccer standout Darby Hirsch went on to star for Fort Hays State. [Fort Hays State Athletics]
66. DARBY HIRSCH, Washburn Rural
Hirsch scored 51 career goals for Washburn Rural soccer to rank No. 2 on the Junior Blues' career list and was Rural's career leader with 58 assists. Hirsch, also a state placer in tennis for Rural, went on to become an multi-time All-MIAA soccer honoree at Fort Hays State while earning Academic All-America honors in '19.
Kathy Mohler helped lead Silver Lake to a dominating run of state softball titles before putting together a Hall of Fame career at Washburn. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
67. KATHY MOHLER, Silver Lake
Mohler starred in softball at Silver Lake and Washburn from 1993-'06 and was inducted into the WU Hall of Fame in 2011 after becoming a two-time All-MIAA pick. Mohler helped lead the Ichabods to their first NCAA Tournament appearance and ended her career as the school leader with 69 pitching wins, including 22 as a senior.
Rachel Stous was a four-time Class 6A state golf medalist for Topeka High and has starred in the women's amateur ranks. [File photo/TSN]
68. RACHEL STOUS, Topeka High
The former Topeka High golf star was a four-time Class 6A state medalist for the Trojans from 2012-'15, with a high finish of fourth and a pair of ninth-place finishes, and has come into her own as a top amateur, winning the Kansas Amateur title and winning back-to-back Kansas City Match Play championships.
Hailey Reed helped lead Seaman to a Class 5A state softball title before a standout college career at Pacific and Kansas. [Pacific Athletics]
69. HAYLEY REED, Seaman
Reed helped lead Seaman to a Class 5A state softball championship as a senior and was a three-time all-conference selection at Pacific before transferring to Kansas, where she led the Jayhawks in wins. Reed posted a career pitching record of 41-5 at Seaman with a 1.06 ERA and 393 strikeouts.
Kasey Hamilton was a multi-sport standout for Washburn Rural before putting together a solid pitching career for Kansas softball. [Kansas Athletics]
70. KASEY HAMILTON, Washburn Rural
Hamilton was a three-sport athlete at Rural (golf, basketball, softball), helping lead the Junior Blues to a Class 6A state basketball championship and second and third-place state finishes in softball before going on to pitch at Kansas.
71. SUSAN PUNZO, Shawnee Heights
72. DANIELLE KNIPP, Washburn Rural
73. CHRIS TORREZ, Topeka West
74. MEG GRIFFIN, Topeka West
75. STEFINE PEASE, Shawnee Heights
76. LORI ROENBAUGH, Shawnee Heights
77. TONNA RIEGER, Topeka West
78. KELLI DUDLEY, Topeka West
79. ALEX O'NEAL, Hayden
80. ZEBBIE ROBERTSON, Hayden
81. KRISTIN STRECKER, Hayden
82. HALEY MOLDEN, Washburn Rural
83. SAMMIE SCHURIG, Washburn Rural
84. SANDY WERNER, Washburn Rural
85. KRISTEN CARLSON, Hayden
86. BREANNA LEWIS, Seaman
87. KATIE MERRIAM, Hayden
88. DAJIA ANDERSON, Washburn Rural
89. ADDISON BROXTERMAN, Washburn Rural
90. ALYSSA SCHULTEJANS, Silver Lake
91. KELSEY LEWIS, Washburn Rural
92. MARANDA BELL, Shawnee Heights
93. MARISSA PATTERSON, Shawnee Heights
94. CAITLIN MORRISEY, Topeka West
95. REBEKAH SMITH, Washburn Rural
96. CASSIE WASSENBERG, Shawnee Heights
97. SHAUNA BURRELL, Seaman
98. ABREANNA PARKER, Shawnee Heights
99. BROOKE LaRUE, Hayden
100. RYIN MILLER, Seaman
UPCOMING TOP 100 TENTATIVE SCHEDULE
July 16 -- Men's No. 61 through 70.
July 17 -- Women's No. 51 through 60.
July 18 -- Men's No. 51 through 60.
July 19 -- Women's No. 41 through 50.
July 20 -- Men's No. 41 through 50.
July 21 -- Women's No. 31 through 40.
July 22 -- Men's No. 31 through 40.
July 23 -- Women's No. 21 through 30.
July 24 -- Men's No. 21 through 30.
July 25 -- Women's No. 11 through 20.
July 26 -- Men's No. 11 through 20.
July 27 -- Women's No.10 through 1.
July 28 -- Men's No. 10 through 1.
